Oven appliances generally include a cabinet that defines a cooking chamber for baking or broiling food items therein. Oven appliances also generally include a self-cleaning feature for cleaning the cooking chamber. To heat the cooking chamber for baking, broiling, or self-cleaning, oven appliances include one or more heating elements, such as gas burners or electric resistance elements, which may be positioned at a top and/or bottom portion of the cooking chamber. During self-cleaning, particularly high temperatures are generated in the cooking chamber. Additionally, during baking and broiling operations, food items may be overcooked or may char or burn if a user is inattentive. Under certain conditions, smoke and/or a fire may even occur within the cooking chamber. However, the user may be unaware that such conditions have developed, and the user could be exposed to dangers posed by smoke and/or fire if the user is unaware that such conditions exist in the cooking chamber of the oven appliance. For example, the user could open the door of the oven appliance and thereby allow smoke to escape or provide fresh air that could fuel a fire.
Accordingly, an oven appliance with features for detecting a fire and/or smoke within the cooking chamber would be useful. Further, an oven appliance having features for containing a fire and/or smoke within the cooking chamber would be beneficial. Moreover, a method for using the features of an oven appliance to detect and contain a fire and/or smoke within the cooking chamber of the oven appliance also would be useful.